Sep 29, Sanctuary of Apollo and Delphi Oracle, at Delphi

Hellooooooo!

Our journey today was mostly another road travel day with only one exploration stop before our destination of Athens!

We departed Kalabaka (green pin) for about a 3hr bus ride into mountainous territory, referred by our guide, Eva, as the "spine of Greece".  The mountains that we traveled up into are over 8,000' in elevation.  Our stop was to visit the Sanctuary of Apollo and the Delphi Oracle.

For the past three days, Eva has given us significant lessons on the ancient history of her people, from the greek Prehistory Age, the Dark Age, and the History Age.  We learned so much today about how the ancient Greeks viewed the world through their mythology and how they sought after wisdom, knowledge, and significance as a people and personally.  One of the most prominent method of seeking wisdom, knowledge, and significance is through the Delphi oracle.  

I'll try to do my best to explain without losing anyone, because I think there is a very important question for us to answer from here as we pursue the journey of the apostle Paul.  

What is an oracle?

First, an oracle is a way to communicate between the physical world and the spiritual world.  The words from an oracle requires a means to interpret, or some type of key to decipher, the underlying meaning of physical events.  In short, an oracle is a type of divination.  By obeying the prophecy of an oracle, a person sought to act in harmony with the physical and spiritual world.  With me so far?

What is the Delphi oracle?

Now, in ancient greek culture, oracles were located at significant locations and were intermixed with greek mythology, namely Apollo.  The most famous greek oracle was located at the Sanctuary of Apollo at the ancient city of Delphi, hence the name, Delphi Oracle.  The oracle was an old woman priestess, sitting in a basket hanging over a hole in the ground in the Temple of Apollo, breathing in the strong mind altering vapors coming from the ground.  She would mumble something uninterpretable, and a priest would have to interpret what the woman said.  Questions asked to oracle ranged from major political dilemmas — whether to wage war or to join an alliance — to simple domestic concerns. 

Why is this important to us following in the steps of Paul?

Paul knew how to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to a people who had a basic framework of wanting to connect with deity.  The ancient greeks came to Apollo at this temple to consult an oracle to connect with their gods.  Apollo was the son of Zeus.  In other words, Apollo is the son of the father of greek gods and men.  

Paul knew how to explain Jesus Christ, Son of God, into different cultures.  

Paul saw how the ancient greeks could grasp the explanation of Christ.  

Paul learned how to see how other people viewed the world, by spending time with them, understanding them, building relationship with them, and then helping them to know our God.  

I wonder how I do compared to Paul.

What does this mean to me?

Our oracle is the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who came to us in the flesh and dwelled among us, who is the explanation and interpretation of God, clear and interpretable, who gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understandingby his Holy Spirit, and is the only one who can bring real significance to our lives.

Pictures

This is the model of the Sanctuary of Apollo on display at the adjacent museum.  The Sanctuary is the who fenced in area.  The Temple of Apollo is the large colonnaded temple on the upper level, where the Delphi Oracle was kept.

This is the entry ramp to the entrance of the Temple of Apollo.

This is the foundational layout of the Temple of Apollo that was excavated, with the entry ramp on the left side.

This was a huge temple. 

After this place, we continued on our way to Athens.  We are staying here in Athens for the next two nights!  

Tomorrow, we will take a day trip out to Corinth.  Sam was going to examine 1st Corinthians chapter 13 on location at Corinth, for anyone who wants to be in sync with us!

Some other fun pictures from today:

Jonathan Morris:

Tom and Janet Broom of St. Timothy UMC, Mandeville, LA.

My close friends Martha Davis and Pam Metz of Dunwoody UMC, Atlanta, GA.

My dear friend Pamela Bean of Dunwoody UMC, Atlanta, GA.